However, according to a blog post, business has not been booming for Khepri:

Gross ’summer’ revenue for KHEPRI was down 43% versus 2009, and down 58% versus 2008. ‘Summer’ being defined as June, July, SDCC, and August combined. Sorry — one more summer of decline, and KHEPRI is done.

We contacted Brian and asked if he meant what he said and how much the general bad economy was affecting his business. He wrote back:

Yes – I’m dead serious in what I blogged, and that’s why I posted it.  Web retail has never been easy for me, a self-described misanthrope and luddite.  And at the end of the day, I do run Khepri.COM, not Khepri.ORG – this isn’t charity work I’m performing.  As my only employee, I’ll throw no-one under the bus but myself.  Sure, the economy is crap.  Undoubtedly, downloading (legal or otherwise) must takes its toll.  But excuses won’t pay the bills.  So I’ll redouble my efforts and see what the next twelve months bring.

Look, I’ve been selling comics since 1994, been running Khepri.com since 1998, and been doing Comic-Con International since 2001.  So I’ve seen some things; rode some highs, weathered some lows.  But my reality is this:  I’m just one guy, as Mom and Pop as you get – and yeah, Mom deserves a new pair of shoes and Pop needs to see a chiropractor.  It’s tough sledding out there competing with Amazon’s free shipping, Hastings’ new impetus, Mile High’s incredible selection, Midtown’s dogged advertising, and on and on.  At the same time, Marvel is now Disney, DC is Time Warner, Comic-Con International is now Hollywood, and only Big Business is Too Big To Fail.  It may be sluggish yet, but the future is now – this is the new comics industry, this is the new global economy.  Where, exactly, do I fit in?

Khepri was definitely viewed as the way forward when it was launched as the way for independent creators in the “Warren Ellis self determination mold” to provide a direct link to customers when bricks and mortar wouldn’t carry their work. Where indeed does a Khepri fit in? Amazon makes virtually everything with an ISBN available instantaneously. Small press fans seem to want to purchase their work directly from the cartoonists in the convention environment, and distributors like Sparkplug and Secret Acres.

Despite all the hopes, ultra small press distributors are having the same ups and downs as everyone else — on a micro scale. Bodega is on hiatus. Buenaventura is no more. On the other hand, AdHouse has a new distribution program and seems to be doing well. U.S.S. Catastrophe went away and came back. The stakes are small and people come and go.

Khepri is more of an anomaly, serving the middle ground publishers who are too genre for a TCAF but too small for the front of Diamond. These readers are perhaps not as dedicated as the other two extremes.

On the other hand, googling for Khepri found few recent mentions or promotion. It’s a fast moving world and we all need to stay agile. When we aren’t…the herd moves on.

Well, just call us Salander, because earlier today, Morse retweeted a link from Criterion to a huge photo of the whole collection, which includes posters by (squinting hard) Kate Beaton, Scott Campbell, Connor Willumsen, Robert Goodin, Jason Latour, Francesco Francavilla and many more. We’re trying to get some images of the rest of the flyer, because they look amazing! The whole giant image is in the second link.

And speaking of ATP (All Tomorrow’s Parties) they just held their music festival this weekend with THESE eye-catching posters by…someone. No credits.

AND speaking of the king, Jog and Matt Seneca go on a vision quest of their own discussing the ’70s outer space comics of Kirby and Steranko. Proof that tripping with The King improves brain function!

So that’s what you’re doing; boiling it down, distilling the idea into a reduced form. No, it won’t have the completeness of what you really want to show them, and it won’t indicate the richness and complexity of what you’re doing. Frankly, you have to live with it. Hook them with this and show them the good stuff later. Because if you don’t do it in a way that at least looks like their way, they won’t even look at it to begin with.

More recently, writing in this month’s Wired, he has some rather sanguine numbers for the comic book industry:

>Compared to cinema attendance, comic book sales look small. But I just pulled up North America’s estimated comics-sales figures for May, and the top comic sold 163,000 issues that month. That’s a regular US-style comic single, costing $4 that goes directly to specialist comic-book shops. The top ten comics for that month sold a combined number in excess of a million units. The top 20? Somewhere over 1.6 million. And these estimates are usually lower than the real sales figures. Plus, of course, all these single issues will eventually be reprinted as trade-paperback collections. Tell a book publisher those numbers and see what colour they turn.

>strong>Stuart Moore pointed out some similar things recently in the comments here.

And just to jump back willy-nilly to making comics again, Marvel editor Nathan Cosby is always tweeting good advice on how to make it in comics, and here are some words on working with editors:

But just because you’re starting out, just cuz your editor got the ability to fire you & hire another writer… …doesn’t mean you’ve gotta completely roll over and change every aspect the editor’s requesting. Editors aren’t gods… …Editors are people that read TONS of scripts & sometimes unsuccessfully attempt to translate their problems with a story to a writer…

The following is a selection of new titles due to be published in September 2010. This list is not comprehensive, as there are over 275 graphic novel titles scheduled for this month.

If you would like to browse them at your leisure, click here. Instead, I have selected titles which caught my interest. These are not necessarily titles I will purchase, but which I will definitely look at once they arrive at my local comics shop or bookstore.

Please be advised that publication dates are not set in stone. Also, your local comics shop might receive copies before your local neighborhood website or library. Links connected to publishers will link to the publisher’s website, sometimes to the exact title. Links for the ISBN-13 (also known as the Bookland EAN) will take you to the title as featured on BarnesAndNoble.com . I consider my tastes to be rather eclectic. If you feel I’ve neglected or slighted a title, publisher, or creator, please feel free to mention it in the comments below.

Monthly lists such as this will be posted at the end of the previous month. I will also be posting specific subject lists (comic strips, comics history and surveys, superheroes…) for each season, but these will not have a set schedule.

Disclaimer: I am employed by Barnes & Noble. This and any other posts by me have no official connection to B&N. Neither I or Heidi MacDonald receive any remuneration from linking to barnesandnoble.com . As always, feel free to send us your PR. Even better, send us some free books!

• $ 29.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Marvel Enterprises, Inc.
• Format: Hardcover, 200pp
• ISBN-13: 9780785140283
• ISBN: 078514028X

• $ 19.95
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Titan Books Limited
• Format: Paperback, 344pp
• ISBN-13: 9781848564329
• ISBN: 1848564325

Paul Dini, Alex Ross (Illustrator)

• $ 29.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Format: Paperback, 400pp
• ISBN-13: 9781401202552
• ISBN: 1401202551

Joe Simon, Jack Kirby (Illustrator), Steve Saffel (Editor)

• $ 49.95
• Pub. Date: October 2010
• Publisher: Titan Books Limited
• Format: Hardcover, 480pp
• ISBN-13: 9781848563650
• ISBN: 1848563655

N. C. Christopher Couch, Jerry Robinson (Illustrator), Pete Hamill (Introduction by), Dennis O’Neil (Foreword by)

• $ 35.00
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Abrams, Harry N., Inc.
• Format: Hardcover, 224 pp
• ISBN-13: 9780810977648
• ISBN: 0810977648

John Benson (Editor), Greg Sadowski (Editor)

• $ 29.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
• Format: Paperback, 320pp
• ISBN-13: 9781606993439
• ISBN: 1606993437

Alan Moore, Ian Gibson

• $ 17.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Rebellion/Abaddon Books
• Format: Paperback, 208pp
• ISBN-13: 9781906735937
• ISBN: 190673593X

• $ 16.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Incorporated
• Format: Hardcover, 208pp
• Age Range: 12 and up
• ISBN-13: 9780756667405
• ISBN: 0756667402

Susan Brewer

• $ 39.95
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Limited
• Format: Hardcover, 240pp
• ISBN-13: 9781844680726
• ISBN: 184468072X

Dick Briefer

• $ 21.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Idea & Design Works, LLC
• Format: Hardcover, 148pp
• ISBN-13: 9781600107221
• ISBN: 1600107222

Mike Mignola, Dave Stewart (Artist)

• $ 17.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
• Format: Hardcover, 104pp
• ISBN-13: 9781595825018
• ISBN: 1595825010

Neal Adams

• $ 39.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Format: Hardcover, 192pp
• ISBN-13: 9781401221720
• ISBN: 1401221726

Al Williamson

• $ 19.95
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Flesk Publications
• Format: Paperback, 64 pp
• ISBN-13: 9781933865294
• ISBN: 1933865296

O. T. Nelson, Chrissy Delk (Illustrator), Dan Jolley (Adapted by)

• $ 8.95
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group/Graphic Universe
• Format: Library Binding
• ISBN-13: 9780761349037
• ISBN: 0761349030

Willow Dawson

• $ 16.95
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Kids Can Press, Limited
• Format: Hardcover, 112pp
• Age Range: 8 to 12
• ISBN-13: 9781554534388
• ISBN: 1554534380

Ignacio Noe

• $ 13.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: N B M Publishing Company
• Format: Paperback, 64pp
• ISBN-13: 9781561635870
• ISBN: 1561635871
• Edition Description: Not Appropriate For Children

Edgar Allan Poe

• $ 28.50
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: The Creative Company
• Format: Hardcover, 32pp
• Age Range: 9 to 12
• ISBN-13: 9781583419250
• ISBN: 158341925X

Diana Gabaldon, Hoang Nguyen (Illustrator)

• $ 25.00
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Format: Hardcover, 224pp
• Series: Outlander Series
• ISBN-13: 9780345505385
• ISBN: 0345505387

Frederick Luis Aldama, Derek Parker Royal (Foreword by)

• $ 55.00
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Format: Hardcover, 278pp
• ISBN-13: 9780292722811
• ISBN: 0292722818

Sid Jacobson, Ernie Colon

• $ 30.00
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Hill and Wang
• Format: Hardcover, 160 pp
• ISBN-13: 9780809026845
• ISBN: 0809026848

Zoë B. Alley (Retold by), R. W. Alley (Retold by)

• $ 19.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
• Format: Hardcover, 40 pp
• Age Range: 4 to 8
• ISBN-13: 9781596434714
• ISBN: 1596434716

John DeCosta (Artist), Bill Spangler

• $ 15.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Bluewater Productions
• Format: Paperback, 96pp
• ISBN-13: 9781450700146
• ISBN: 1450700144

Joyce Farmer

• $ 26.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
• Format: Hardcover, 208pp
• ISBN-13: 9781606993811
• ISBN: 160699381X

Scott Wegener, Brian Clevinger (Artist)

• $ 17.95
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Red 5 Comics
• Format: Paperback, 140pp
• Age Range: Young Adult
• ISBN-13: 9780980930283
• ISBN: 0980930286

Roger Langridge, Amy Mebberson (Illustrator)

• $ 9.99
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Boom! Studios
• Format: Paperback, 112pp
• Age Range: 8 to 12
• ISBN-13: 9781608865871
• ISBN: 1608865878

Jay P. Fosgitt

• $ 9.95
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Ape Entertainment
• Format: Paperback, 100pp
• Age Range: Young Adult
• ISBN-13: 9781936340019
• ISBN: 1936340011

Cliff Sterrett

• $ 75.00
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Idea & Design Works, LLC
• Format: Hardcover, 176pp
• ISBN-13: 9781600107115
• ISBN: 1600107117

Jason Flowers (Artist), Jay Busbee

• $ 14.95
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Arcana Studio Incorporated
• Format: Paperback, 96pp
• Age Range: Young Adult
• ISBN-13: 9781897548066
• ISBN: 1897548060

Audrey Niffenegger

• $ 19.95
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Abrams, Harry N., Inc.
• Format: Hardcover, 208pp
• ISBN-13: 9780810996175
• ISBN: 0810996170

Seymour Chwast (Adapted by), Dante Alighieri (Based On Work by)

• $ 20.00
• Pub. Date: August 2010
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Format: Hardcover, 128pp
• ISBN-13: 9781608190843
• ISBN: 1608190846

Leone Frollo (Illustrator), Massimo Farepuzzo (Adapted by)

• $ 9.50
• Pub. Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Pacific Comics Club
• Format: Paperback, 96pp
• ISBN-13: 9780615394459
• ISBN: 0615394450

Be glad I didn't use an image from the inside of this comic

So Darwyn Cooke got caught on video saying that superhero comics should “…stop catering to the perverted needs of forty-five-year-old men.” He called out rape, children being forced to eat rats, explicit sex, foul language, and a lack of new characters. And now some people are getting upset. Oh come on, like you’ve never thought any of that.

Unfortunately the whole thing got derailed by his swipe at turning Batwoman into a lesbian, which came off as rather homophobic to some. Personally, I have to admit, I read it more as the character continuity issue of a man who likes his Bronze and Silver Age comics, which is somewhat humorous, given that he’s complaining about comics being ruled by the whims of forty-somethings, but he is large, he contains multitudes. (To which I say, Darwyn, it wasn’t “overnight”. She may have been around since 1956, but she hadn’t made any significant appearances since Crisis on Infinite Earths which basically changed everything. SEE? I can be as big of a geek as you are.)

So let’s break this down from the point of view of someone who is not forty five or male — me.

Perverted needs

I'm sorry, what?

Let’s be honest. The disturbing scenarios described by Cooke don’t disgust twenty and thirty-somethings — not to mention the sick little teenage boys we all went to school with — any more than they do forty-five-year-olds so much as they repel new readers of any age.

I’m going to come right out and say it — when you don’t know if a heretofore demure superhero title is going to dissolve into an orgy of rape and disembowelment in the next issue, it makes it that much harder to recommend to a new reader.

There’s definitely room for darker titles. I don’t think that anyone gets too up in arms when Hellblazer features yet another unlucky magician getting eaten by demons, but when you’re reading a JLA title and unexpectedly a hero gets dismembered and his preschooler gets murdered, it is all rather “What next, the moon turns to blood?”

While I’m not suggesting a return to the days of the Comic Code Authority, frankly, I think it would help matters immensely if readers knew, even unofficially, whether a particular comic title would be more likely to be shocking in the sense of “I had no idea the Batcave would explode!” or “On panel rape, graphic murder, more rape.” Having the stomach to handle prurient atrocities should not be a necessary skill for reading superheroes aimed at a post-grade school audience. If you really want a larger and more varied audience, keeping some of your titles and characters definitively away from the ultraviolence and disturbing content would be a good place to start. After all, did we really need to see evil dominatrix Mary Marvel?

No wonder many non-comics fans imagine us to be unwashed, socially inappropriate goons.

Forty-five-year-old

But yes, let’s get back to the question of whether or not comics cater to older fans in a way that makes for bad comics and excludes younger readers. Do they? Yeah, sometimes.

More than one comics professional has expressed the idea that all superhero comics are fueled almost entirely by nostalgia, and I have to say, I think that’s a very dangerous position to take. In my own experience, this isn’t true, at least not any more. How many adults under 30 even have fabled halcyon days as an eight-year-old at the supermarket spinner rack to want to recapture anymore? Most of us couldn’t get our hands on real comic books until we were in our teens, and when we did, we were probably more interested in the exciting stories or colorful characters than getting in touch with some lost era. Trying to get a new reader to recall the Silver Age or even Bronze Age of comics with a tear in the eye is a self-evidently ludicrous proposition.

Mainstream and superhero comics have a lot more going for them than simply a long history and great name recognition. Superhero comics aren’t really some sort of bizarre cult worshiping the desecrated remains of the 1930’s. They’re entertainment, and they’re fun. Forget this at your peril.

If Marvel decides to bring back Loxy the Dancing Bagel, they’d better have a very clear idea in mind of why somone who has never heard of Loxy would also enjoy and follow that book. The individual stories have to have some entertainment value of their own beyond simply being the next bit of paper with the character’s name printed on it. Otherwise, by issue 14, “Loxy and the Sinister Spread Scenario”, even the hardcore Loxy fanclub will start to tail off buying it, and good luck recruiting new readers!

Part of the power of the long-running superhero universes is that you can fall in love with a character and follow his or her exploits for years, watching the character change and grow in fascinating and unexpected directions in the hands of one creative team or another. The DC and Marvel Universes are one of the most fascinating and multi-faceted experiments in collaborative storytelling ever to see print, and that’s nothing to sneeze at. But precisely because they are so large and complex, it’s short-sighted to expect all of your readers to have to remember a ten-year-old plot point in order to get the story. A well-written story ought to work for longtime fans as well as new readers.  Yes, I know, that’s hard to pull off. But at the very least, it should be a priority to try.

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard something like “I want to read X-men / JSA / Marvel Comics / superhero comics, but where do you even start?” I would be able to buy several deluxe edition hardcovers, that’s all I’m saying.

Men

Dear comic book artists,

Stop tracing porn for your mainstream superhero comics.

Love,

Me

Look, there’s nothing wrong with eye candy. But when the storytelling takes an obvious back seat to illustrating your sexual fantasies, don’t be surprised when girls and women are turned off by it. That doesn’t mean that superhero comics aren’t for women, or that women don’t like or read superheroes

So do young people read superheroes?

Give me a break. Of course we do! There’s a lot to love about superhero comics. Walk into any comic book store today that isn’t a den of ’70s carpeting and stultifying testosterone and I would be willing to wager that at least 60 percent of the customers are under 40. The kids at my local library are continually checking out superhero books — they always seem to have the ones I want when I’m trying to find one.

Many, many superhero comics are having wonderful runs right now. Personally, I’m enjoying Justice League: Generation Lost, Prince of Power, Booster Gold, Gotham City Sirens and Young Allies at the moment and I can hardly wait for Batwoman to return this fall. There’s absolutely no question that there are good books out there, or that there are younger people reading them.

But don’t expect a twenty-three year old with fond memories of Wally West and Bart Allen to give a damn that Barry Allen got brought back from the dead or be cool with the fact that you sidelined his heroes to do it. He was a year old when the “real” Flash died.
Kate Fitzsimons writes for Publishers Weekly, Publishers Weekly Comics Week, and her personal comics and geek culture blog geekiferous.com.

We’ve done it!

Jim Woodring’s giant steel dip pen — to be used for drawing demonstrations and healing the lame — has been funded!

Plans are underway, and Woodring has moves to the next phase: How The Giant Pen Will Work.

The pen will have to be kept level until the stroke is ready to be applied. Before the stroke starts the tines will be primed with a brush. The pen will be tilted until the ink flows onto the paper, and then the flow will be controlled by tilting the pen to let more or less ink flow into the line, as determined by the nature of the line desired.

Lets face it, there are a lot of problems in this country right now, and very few people who seem able, or willing, to solve them. But Jim Woodring’s Giant Steel Dip Pen may be just the things to save us all.

Imagining chipmunk terrorists Chip and Dale as bold adventurers, with the addition of rodent heroes Monterey Jack, Gadget, and Zipper the Housefly, the Rescue Rangers were another staple of the Disney Afternoon and a favorite of furry fans everywhere. Ian Brill is back as writer, with Leonel Castellani as artist.

It’s the return of your favorite furry flatfoots in an all new original ongoing series! Coming on the heels of BOOM!’s bestselling and multiple sell out DARKWING DUCK series, BOOM! brings you another piece of the Disney Afternoon revolution with CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS in their own ongoing series debuting this December.

Join DARKWING DUCK writer Ian Brill and MARVEL SUPERHERO SQUAD artist Leonel Castellani as they take the diminutive detectives on all new original adventure!

Whether you’re a CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS fan from the hit TV show or want to discover these beloved characters for the first time, this new ongoing series delivers all the mystery, intrigue and hijinks that made CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS the number one Disney Afternoon TV show ever!

This is the only comic book series coming out that will have you singing that song you can never forget: “Sometimes some crimes go slipping through the cracks. But these two Gumshoes are picking up the slack. There’s no case too big, no case too small, when you need help just call —Ch-ch-ch-Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers!”

“After the overwhelming success we’ve had bringing DARKWING DUCK back, BOOM! knew it was time to continue the excitement and imagination of the Disney Afternoon revolution in comic book form ,” said DARKWING DUCK writer Ian Brill. “It’s an honor to continue the adventures of CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS for both the generation of fans that enjoyed the show the first time and for a whole new generation of comic book fans!”

Debuting in 1989, the top rated CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS brought action and suspense to the Disney Afternoon animation block, becoming the most popular Disney Afternoon show on the air. Televised around the world, CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS is still a favorite of pop culture fans everywhere.

Coming out this December, CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS #1 is written by DARKWING DUCK’s Ian Brill with interior art by MARVEL SUPERHERO SQUAD’s Leonel Castellani . The debut issues features two covers in a 50/50 split by Leonel Castellani and Magic Eye Studios respectively and a 1-in-10 incentive cover by Jake Myler.

Earlier this week the Borders bookstore chain announced its earnings for the quarter ending July 31 and the results were weak, as expected. Sales fell 11.5%, to $526.1 million, with a $51.6 million loss.

The deep declines in total sales and comp sales at Borders compared to a sales decline of 2.6% at Barnes & Noble’s retail stores in the quarter with comps down 0.9%. In its official release, Borders had little to say about its financial performance, choosing instead to focus on the various initiatives it says will better position it to perform in the digital marketplace and for the holiday season. The company did not breakout results between its Walden specialty group and superstores. During the quarter, Borders opened one store and closed two, but previous closings in its Walden unit resulted in the company operating 679 stores at the end of the quarter compared to 886 outlets one year ago. In its conference call, Borders executives said the sales decline at its stores was due to a poor performance by its core trade book category, while bargain books and cafe segments rose.

Sales were up at Borders.com, however, mostly from actual book sales.

Today PW’s Jim Milliot interviews Borders CEO Mike Edwards and interim CFO Glen Tomasczewski on changes they hope to make in order to survive. With digital books taking over the future model, the stores are redefining their product mix:

Edwards said that since there is little chance that sales of print books will increase through its bricks-and-mortar stores, the retailer “needs to redeploy the space” that it has dedicated to trade books. While transforming the stores will take time, Tomasczewski said that the Borders that customers walk into this fall will be much different than the store of fall 2009. The retailer’s Area e digital section will be in all stores by the end of October, more bargain books will be available and the layout is being remade to make it easier to find books, Tomasczewski said. The makeover will include adding approximately 900 new signs per story to help customers navigate their way in the stores. And as reported yesterday, Borders is adding more children’s educational toys and games, adult games and puzzles and more stationery. In addition, Borders will add more open space to create a more relaxed atmosphere, Tomasczewski said.

The average Borders shopper is a woman, which defines the chain as “a family- and community-based destination,” said Edwards.

Borders’ teetering state has been a huge drain on the graphic novel industry this year. It was, arguably, Borders’ aggressive investment in manga, led by then buyer Kurt Hassler, that set the stage for a lot of the expansion of the graphic novel market in the last decade. While publishers have already been preparing for a Border-less world, a huge round of book returns from the chain earlier this year sent many comics publishers into maintenance mode for all of 2010. GIN general, graphic novel sales were one of the few bright spots in bookstore sales over the last decade, with steady growth while other categories remained flat. However, the dwindling of the bookstore environment itself is forcing big changes to every publisher.

But, see also.

The 8th annual Stumptown Comics Fest will take place on April 16th and 17th, and be held in its new location at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. In recent years the exhibition hall has been packed to the gills; this move to the Convention Center will give attendees room to breathe with 30,000 square feet of exhibition space (nearly double the square footage) and will allow the amount of table to be increased with room for future growth.

A small number of guests have already been confirmed for the next fest, from local, national, and even international stages. Guests are to include: Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Molly Crabapple (illustrator, founder of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School), Kurt Busiek (writer for DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image), Larry Marder (Tales of the Beanworld), and Barry Deutsch (Hereville). This list is by no means complete, and regular announcements will be made over the coming months as more details are confirmed.

Indigo Kelleigh, founder of the Stumptown Comics Fest, is returning as the festival director for the next three years (2011-2013). Kelleigh brings his experience in both event coordination and the comics industry to the team, and is already working to make this upcoming year a peak at what’s to come. Shannon T. Stewart, Festival Director for the 2009 and 2010 fests and a current Board member of the Stumptown Comics Foundation, is supportive of Kelleigh’s involvement. “We’re all elated to have Indigo, the creator of the Fest, return to the position of Director,” says Stewart, “and I personally look forward to working with him and to the amazing ideas he has in store for Stumptown over not just this season, but the next few years leading to the ten year anniversary!”

This will be the eighth year of the Stumptown Comics Fest (founded 2004), which has become the largest creator-focused comics festival in the Northwest. The amount of comics fans attending the event continues to climb as does the national and international attention our local event garners from artists, writers, editors, and publishers. For continuing updates regarding the event, head to the official website at www.stumptowncomicsfest.com

When Harvey Pekar died on July 12th, he was revealed in death to be a figure more influential and revered than he would ever have dared hope in life. He left a literary legacy as well as a wealth of projects in the pipeline. And he also left some awkwardness, as Dave Itzkoff in the New York Times writes in a revealing piece entitled The Unsettled Afterlife of Harvey Pekar:

His obsessive drive combined with the sheer number of his collaborations produced a two-dimensional record of his shaggy life, rendered in varying styles by numerous illustrators. Now only his widow and the artists he worked with are left to narrate his final chapter, a tale of bruised feelings and allegations of opportunism, with nothing more at stake than the writer’s modest legacy. But no matter how it plays out, Mr. Pekar is bound to emerge as enigmatic as ever.

Part of the problem stems from a personality conflict between Pekar’s soulmate and artistic collaborator, Joyce Brabner, and Tara Seibel, one of the artists on the webcomic, The Pekar Project. There’s also some discussion of the matter of the day, as The Pekar Project was done under the no money upfront/book deal back-end project.

The arrangement was different from what Mr. Pekar and Ms. Brabner were used to. “People think that they should get paid up front especially when they have a history of getting paid up front,” said Mr. Haspiel, who runs his own Web comics site, act-i-vate.com. But Mr. Pekar agreed to it because “he understood that you have to promote yourself, and you have to be out there constantly,” Mr. Haspiel said. “Not only working with Joyce.”

The piece paints a rather unsettled picture of Pekar’s affairs, which includes a wealth of material yet to come out. In addition to a projected Pekar Project collection, there’s Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland, illustrated by Joseph Remnant; Huntington, West Virginia, ‘On the Fly’ and Harvey and Joyce’s Big Book of Marriage, which will be published by Random House. Brabner herself is finishing Not the Israel My Parents Promised, to be illustrated by JT Waldman, which FSG will publish.

Acclaimed animator/cartoonist Nina Paley has sent around word of her new webcomic, Mimi and Eunice, and by sheer coincidence, the topic is the matter which we’ve been much discussing of late.

Paley is best known for her handmade animated film, SITA SINGS THE BLUES, which was made for next to nothing, hailed as a triumph everywhere, but held up from commercial distribution because of copyright issues in the music Paley used for the film. And as Paley writes on the website for the film:

I hereby give Sita Sings the Blues to you. Like all culture, it belongs to you already, but I am making it explicit with a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License. Please distribute, copy, share, archive, and show Sita Sings the Blues. From the shared culture it came, and back into the shared culture it goes.

You don’t need my permission to copy, share, publish, archive, show, sell, broadcast, or remix Sita Sings the Blues. Conventional wisdom urges me to demand payment for every use of the film, but then how would people without money get to see it? How widely would the film be disseminated if it were limited by permission and fees? Control offers a false sense of security. The only real security I have is trusting you, trusting culture, and trusting freedom.

Paley identifies herself as a full-time free culture activist. In keeping with this idea, Mimi and Eunice is fully embeddable (SO EASY TO POST)…and a quite charming way to approach current politics. Paley had a previous comic strip, Fluff, which ran in newspapers for a few years back in the day.

Here’s another strip for good measure.